Agitator for grain-heaters.



F. A. WEGNER.

AGITATOR FOR GRAIN HEATERS.

APPLICATION FILED JANA}, 1910.

Patented Sept. 27, 1910.

Witmwoeo W M J63? W t1 TTE TATS PATENT Fb lfihl FREDERICK A. WEGNER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO HER-BERT C. GRAHAM, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

AGITATOR FOR GRAIN-HEATERS.

Application filed January 8, 1910.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 27, 1910.

Serial No. 537,065.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. VVEGNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Agitators for Grain-Heat ers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for deflecting and agitating grain as it flows of its own gravity through the vertical tubes of agrain heater. Heretofore it has been connnon to provide the heating tubes with a central rod to which a plurality of separately formed grain deflecting blades have been soldered or otherwise secured and experience has shown that blades thus at tached frequently become loose, and the object of my present improvement is therefore to provide a central deflecting rod formed of a single piece of metal of such construction that the descending grain that is brought in contact therewith will be agitated and deflected outwardly thereby from the center against the heated walls of the tubing and the necessity of aflixing separately formed blades thereto, as heretofore, is avoided.

The construction of my invention is explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a preferred form of a pair of integrally formed deflecting rods respectively suspended in separate grain heat ing tubes, and Fig. 2 represents a modified form of an integrally formed deflecting member.

Like parts are identified by the same refer ence numerals in both views.

1, 1, represent a pair of ordinary heating tubes of a grain heater, which are preferably connected together at their lower ends by a single funnel shaped member 2 and are connected at their upper ends with the head of a heater 3, a partial view of which is shown in said Fig. 1.

4 represents the deflecting rod, which is provided at its upper end with a supporting arm 5, which engages the upper end of the grain tubes 1 and from which it is centrally suspended in said tube. The rod 4.- is provided with a plurality of angular V-shaped bends 6, which respectively extend outwardly and downwardly from the center toward the sides of said tubes and from thence inwardly to the central member of the tube and these V-shaped bends are preferably located in a spiral series between the respective ends of said agitating rods, whereby such grain as might pass one of said angular bends, will be brought into contact with the next succeeding bend, whereby all the grain will be caused as it descends through said tubes, to be thrown outwardly from their centers toward and against their heated walls, whereby all the grain in pass ing through the heater will become uniformly heated.

By the modified form shown in Fig. 2, the deflecting member 7 is preferably made of a thin flat strip of metal, which is bent spirally and is provided with a series of down wardly and outwardly inclined integrally formed blades 8, 8. The blades 8 are formed by two slits 10, 10, extending inwardly from the respective edges of the strip 7, while the lower ends of said blades are also curved outwardly toward the inner walls of said tube. Thus it will be obvious that the grain in descending from the upper to the lower end of the tube 11 will be brought into contact with and be deflected outwardly by said outwardly and downwardly inclined blades, whereby all the grain in passing through said tubes will, as stated, be uniformly heated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is"

1. The combination with the vertical tubes of a grain heater, of a grain deflecting member provided with a plurality of integrally formed downwardly and outwardly inclined members adapted to deflect the descending grain outwardly from the center of said tubes.

2. The combination with the heating tubes of a grain heater, of an integrally formed grain deflecting rod provided with a plurality of V-shaped bends, the apexes of which are adapted to terminate in close proximity with the vertical walls of said tubes, and means for suspending said rods centrally in said tubes.

The combination with the heating tubes of a grain heater, of an integrally formed grain deflecting rod provided with 1 plurality of Vshaped bends arranged in a spiral series between the respective ends of said rod, the apexes of which are adapted to terminate in close proximity with the vertical Walls of said tubes, and means for suspending said rods centrally in said tubes.

In testimony Wherect I affix my' signature in the presence of two Witnesses;

FREDERICK A. WEGNER.

JAS. B. ERWIN. 

